Haunted Places in America: Alcatraz

Alcatraz has been known to be one of the most haunted places in America by those that have visited the renowned prison for years. The history of Alcatraz begins in the 1850s, when the first prisoners were military prisoners that were employed to actually build the place that would imprison them off the coast of San Francisco on a large rocky island. Almost forty years later the government had decided to use the space as a maximum security prison… and the stories began!

The routine at Alcatraz was tough; there were many famous criminals that the government thought they could break with the harsh conditions and daily activities that remained the same day in and day out. There were no special privileges for prisoners at Alcatraz, any privileges above basic shelter and food had to be earned by good behavior.

If prisoners failed to obey the rules, they were thrown in the hole. There were five “hole” cells which were below the ground and only provided the prisoner with basic necessities such as a toilet, sink and a mattress during the night. There is a very particular haunting of one these hole cells, “hole” cell 14D that envelop visitors to the cell with the feeling of an immediate coldness and intensity washing over their body once they enter the space.

The haunting activities of the hole cell began in the 1940s, when a prisoner locked in the cell through the night made screaming claims that something was trying to kill him – what could it be that was trying to kill him? His screaming claimed the monster to be dark with glowing eyes. The strange part is, there were guards that viewed this man in the lineup with the other inmate’s only moments before he was strangled to death in the cell. Another interesting aspect to this haunting is the next day, after the man had been pronounced dead and removed from the roll calls, there had been one extra prisoner that had not been accounted for – could this be our mysterious ghostly killer with the glowing eyes?

There are more than one haunting stories at Alcatraz where thousands of men were kept for their maximum security prison sentence. Apparently the torture that existed at Alcatraz brought prisoners back after their death to roam the halls of the prison, which is now open for tours. As the island was secluded, it has been said the guards could do whatever they wanted to the prisoners, causing enough damage for the prisoners to remain in these halls, for eternity! Now that is a prison sentence, if I have ever heard one.

Crying, moaning and other sounds of hardship have been heard through cell blocks A, C and D throughout the time that the prison has been open. There are apparently countless spirits stuck in Alcatraz which have been documented hundreds of times through the use of paranormal investigations and visits to the island from renowned psychics and ghost-hunters.

Related posts:

1. Ghosts of Eastern State Penitentiary
2. The Haunted 1891 Castle Inn
3. Burlington County Prison Museum Ghosts
4. Paranormal Activity at Old Idaho Penitentiary
5. Hauntings at Moundsville State Penitentiary